Halo: The Night Sword Chronicles
by Kagurati
Summary: A story about the discovery of another Halo, by the UNSC Carrier, Night Sword, and their discoveries and actions on this new Halo. Rated T because I'm not sure what happen in future chapters.
1. Another Halo

**Halo: The _Night Sword _Chronicles**

**Chapter I: Another Halo**

"Captain Crestar, I believe I've discovered something that you'll very much want to see." A voice came over the captains earpiece.

Captain Crestar had been in the service of the United Nations Space Command (UNSC) for well near 30 years now. Having joined in to the lowest rank on the food chain at the age of 18, he had worked extremely hard to gain rank... and to stay alive during the Covenant Wars. Well, to be accurate, the Covenant War was still taking place, but the Flood had temporarily put the war on paused as the two, turned three separate sides realized that unless the Flood were put down, they'd all go extinct. Four years since then and the unstable coalition had manage to at least stop the Flood's spread. And unbeknownst to Crestar, the Covenant wars were to begin again.

"Vesta, what is so important for me to see?" Crestar questioned his A.I., hoping for an answer that didn't mean he'd have to walk halfway across his ship, the _Night Sword_. This ship was designed for deep space combat, and was one of the newest ships in the UNSC's arsenal. Thanks to the research into Covenant technology, it boasted one thing many ships didn't have; shields. It had two separate power cores. A forward core, which was solely for the vessels shields. Since shields were so new a technology for UNSC vessels, it wasn't considered plausible to have the shields and other ship functions on the same power core. Of course, should once core fail, or more power be required, the output from each core could be rerouted to other parts of the vessel.

"I suggest you proceed to the forward observation deck. I find it to be quite an interesting find." Vesta replied, with a fake tone of intrigue.

Minutes later, Crestar had reached the vessels forward observation deck, and was looking around for whatever was so interesting. There were in an uncharted solar system with several planets, two of which looked habitable. Other than that there was a cluster of asteroids in what Crestar guessed was the fourth orbit.

Such Observation Decks were a rarity among almost all vessels of any race. Their thick glass kept the ship from depressurizing, but was albeit, fragile when compared to most space weapons. For that sole purpose, a series Titanium-A blast shields could descend over the windows when one was shattered or the ship entered a combat situation.

"There Captain, in that cluster of asteroids. You'll need to look closely to find it though." The crewman stated, refining Crestar's search area quite a bit. Though the asteroid field was large, it was still a distance away. Frankly, he was amazed anyone could see such a distance. For all he knew, his eyesight could've been going.

"I'll point it out for you, Captain." Vesta's voice came in over his earpiece. The asteroid field zoomed in, as the network of invisible wiring in the glass activated. This was another advantage of newer ships. Specialized panes that looked like glass, contained a mass of crisscrossing fiberoptic wires that allowed visuals to appear on the glass, and better yet, only on one side. On the other side, you couldn't see a thing.

And so suddenly it all became clear. Hardly visible in the asteroid field was a ring–a massive ring–exactly ten thousand kilometers in diameter, according to the scanner readouts. It was also twenty-two point three kilometers thick.

"Spectroscopic analysis Vesta?" Crestar requested, and a moment later, a new screen was shown on the glass. According to the report, the metals on the ring were the same as the others. This was indeed, another Halo.

"Vesta, bring the ship closer to that thing. Try not to damage the asteroids around it though, as they are likely there for a reason." With those words, the visual flashed once then vanished. Crestar walked out of the observatory and towards his quarters. He'd have to make one very long report about this and he wasn't one bit fond of the idea.

Another Halo was just what the galaxy needed. It meant another super weapon that could be activated, though not remotely fortunately enough, and it also meant more Flood. That was the worst part. Who knows, maybe they'd get lucky and not have to fight the beasts. This Halo was in uncharted space, for all known races in this galaxy.

As soon as Crestar sent his report via drone to Earth, he knew what would happen. A UNSC fleet would be the first to arrive, then the Coalition and their tri-race fleet of former-covenant vessels, and lastly the Covenant themselves would arrive. Of course, it would be natural that the Coalition would respond, as they were on good terms with the UNSC, and understood just what Halo's were–super weapons. The Covenant on the other hand were still bent on their "Great Journey" theory of the Halo's.

The Coalition was an unstable faction, as the three primary races tended to have troubles getting along sometimes. But at the least they meant that the Covenant had a smaller playing field. Thanks to the UNSC aiding the Coalition, they managed to push back the large Covenant fleets and holdings, and establish a series of Coalition held planets and space ports. And unlike the Covenant, the Coalition was willing to improve the technology of the Forerunners. This left the Covenant at a disadvantage, but they tended to find the majority of new Forerunner artifacts, which gave them their "new" technology. It was likely the only thing that kept the Covenant a force to be reckoned with was the newly discovered Forerunner technologies.

Roughly an hour later, the report was finished, and sent to Earth. Within a day, the UNSC would send a fleet to reinforce the _Night Sword_. Hopefully, there wouldn't be any trouble until then.

* * *

**A/N:** Yeah, I know it's a short one, but this is my first fan fiction, and only something of an intro. Also, I only know something of what takes place in Halo 2, as I don't have an X-box. 


	2. Primary Base Found

**Halo: The _Night Sword _Chronicles**

**Chapter II: Primary Base Found**

"Greetings Captain Crestar, of the _Night Sword_."

"And greetings to you Admiral." Crestar replied.

"Captain Crestar, the Sixth Fleet will be arriving within a couple days to reinforce your position. In the meantime find a defensible position on the Halo and setup a primary base."

"Understood, Admiral"

"Oh yes, I believe the Coalition will be sending a cruiser as well, the _Imminent Thunder_ if reports are right. Make sure we have the advantage this time, Captain. We've lost too many men with these Halo's as it is."

"Of course sir."

"UNSC High Command out."

So, the Coalition was sending one of their ships to reinforce the UNSC's Sixth Fleet. That meant that the Covenant wouldn't be far behind. At least, according to the scans there wasn't any Flood activity in the sector, or on the Halo for that matter. Perhaps this Halo's AI was smarter than the previous ones.

"Vesta, ETA to Halo?" Strangely, no response came to Crestar's question, at least not immediately. Usually the AI was quick to respond, and it was unlike her to take her time. Vesta was an adaptive "smart" AI. It took a lot of things to handle before she began to show even a noticeable slowdown.

Instead of a direct answer, an indirect one came. The _Night Sword_ had changed speed and direction. The screen in front of him showed that they were slowing to landing speed. It made no sense; there weren't any official stations of any race in this system. Unless...

"Vesta, what are you doing?"

"I'm going to land the _Night Sword_ at what my numerous scans have shown, to be an abandoned star ship launch facility. All scans have shown no Flood on any part of the Halo, and I after some searching, I have come to the conclusion that this facility is the most defensible location." Vesta explained.

"While I trust your judgement, you should have asked me about it first. I am the captain of this vessel, and while I do agree on the move, I am still the one in charge."

"Understood, Captain."

"So, what can you tell me about this 'launch facility'?"

"My scans have shown it to be roughly three stories tall, and running roughly two hundred feet in length and width. I've designated it as a launching facility because it appears to have it's own built in gravity pad and hangars. Thanks to the modifications made to newer vessels, I believe we may be able to utilize this gravity pad in order to transfer our own troops and equipment. However, the age of this facility may prevent such an action... That and the generators don't appear to be online. Other than that, I've located what appear to be hangars able to fit atleast a couple of our Fighters inside. On the perimeter runs a thick twenty feet high wall. This wall would make for a suitable defense. On the 'north,' if you assume the ring rotates from north to south, there is a large tower that holds what I'd guess to be a multitude of sensors. Whoever left this here, intended to stay a while."

On the screen in front of him, a visual of the facility came up. Hangars on the east side of the complex, with short run ways, a series of what Crestar guessed to be barracks and an armory. All in all, it looked like a military outpost. In other words, it would make a grand primary base.

"So, are you going to tell me how long until we land or not?"

"Approximately ten minutes by my calculations. I've already sent orders to wake the troops from cryo sleep and all troops should be ready to conduct a thorough search of the facility upon arrival."

"Good Vesta, good."

The _Night Sword_ was capable of storing just a bit more than the old _Pillar of Autumn_ could, and had a much larger armament. It had a double-hull of Titanium-A armor, dual MAC guns, shields, cryo decks, vehicular storage areas, and was capable of easily surviving a crash landing. For the most part, it's design was built on older ship designs, though re-engineered to make it more modern.

Vesta, the ships AI on the other hand, had served on several vessels, and the _Night Sword_ had a more advanced processors, that extended the 'smart' AI's life span by a few more years to ten. Of course, Vesta was only a few years old, and had been transferred from a couple previous vessels, upon Crestar's request. He had grown somewhat attached to the AI.

Crestar had, had a long military career. He joined at the age of 18, and for the most part did his best to survive the Covenant Wars. After years of being nothing more than an ensign, he finally gained a rank, and eventually was promoted to a rank that would give him a chance at more promotions. Fifteen plus years of being in a ship for most of his time and he finally became a captain, aboard the frigate _Truth's Remorse_. How he survived that things destruction was astounding to even him. The ship's AI had done exactly as he told, as far as he could tell. It initiated the Cole Protocol, jumped through slip space, and then self-destructed. The AI on board, even if it did somehow survive, was clean. It would've known only the basics of ship operation. All in all, at the age of 38, he felt that he had done more than most.

Right now though, his only goal important goal, was to survive whatever happened in, on, and around this Halo.

* * *

**A/N:** I know, no big cliff hangers to keep you all reading. But I'm still setting up most of the story. I plan on introducing atleast one more character in the series, and yes, there is going to be some action here soon. Still getting the story and background setup. 


	3. Systems Idle

**Halo: The _Night Sword _Chronicles**

**Chapter III: Systems Idle**

"Landing in 10 . . . " A voice said over the D77-TC Pelican's com system. Pelicans were the UNSC's typical transport craft. Capable of hauling almost any vehicle and around 10 fully armed soldiers. And to top it off, a 70mm auto-cannon could do some damage to any enemies in the landing area. Below them, an abandoned military base had stood unused for thousands of years. Now though, the UNSC would put it to good use, and for once, they'd have the upper hand against the Covenant, and with luck the Flood, if they decided to attack. Hopefully, the troops would be lucky not to encounter any serious problems until they showed up. In the meantime, there job was to figure out just how a Halo worked and to make sure that when an enemy showed up, that the UNSC would have the advantage for a change.

"Alright boys, time to remove the dust from this place." The voice came over again. Seconds later, the M12 Warthog LRV dropped off the rear of the Pelican and the troops unloaded. Three took up positions in the warthog and drove off, while the other 7 followed behind.

"Good luck, marines." With those parting words, the Pelican's pilot engaged the vertical thrusters and headed back to the _Night Sword_.

* * *

"Why do we need to do a recon of the area, when the _Night Sword_'s scanners could do it just as well?" The Private riding shotgun asked the Sargent sitting next to him. 

"Because, Private, nothing is as good as an actual visual. I thought that they taught you recruits that in basic training."

"They did, it just seems so pointless."

"Well, carrier class military scanners are reliable, but something can still be left out. Not to mention that Halo's are filled with ancient, yet highly advanced technology, that can alter the scan's readouts."

The conversation ended there. Back at the base, several other recon teams were starting to leave and fan out across the Halo's countryside. At least the area surrounding the primary base, or as command was starting to refer to it as, Alpha Base, was in a warm climate. A bit hilly, and had a few rivers running though it, but none the less, warm.

* * *

"All right boys, time to make this place ours. Fan out and search the structures, make sure you search every inch of 'em too! If it moves, and it's not one of ours, shoot it and call for back up. Alpha Squad, take the hangars, Beta, the barracks, and Delta, head for that tower. If you find anything that looks like a generator, don't do anything to it! Got that, boys?"

"Sir, yes sir!" The squads replied to the newly appointed Commanding Officer at Alpha Base. With no further words, the squads split up to do their assigned duties. Due to the size of the compound, each squad was made up of about twenty men. Even as the search was under progress, more Pelicans were bringing in troops, vehicles, and equipment. Regardless of what kind of threat was found in the area, this would remain Alpha Base.

* * *

"I trust you haven't had any issues with the landing, Commander?" 

"No trouble at all, at least not yet, Captain."

"Same for up here. Scanners are showing nothing hostile anywhere on the Halo. It's quiet."

"Glad to hear it, sir. The more quiet time we have, the more ready we'll be when things get noisy."

"Alright then, keep me up to date, report in two hours. If things get dicey, report in ASAP."

"Understood Captain."

It was strange, being the first to a Halo for once. The other times the UNSC was second to find them.

"Was it this quiet on the Halo's when the Covenant arrived on them?" Crestar questioned to himself. On the screens in front of him, laid a readout of the Halo. Everything from a frozen tundra to a tropical forest was located somewhere on the Halo. Judging by the readouts, it appeared to have a Halo-equivalent of poles and an equator. Colder, frozen regions at the poles, like Earth, and the tropical and desert regions nearer to the equator. Even the weather fit the regions. A Halo was a masterpiece of engineering, and that was an understatement.

"Though, why would someone design a massive ring with planet-like qualities?" Crestar questioned himself again.

"Captain, we've got company. Looks to be a Covenant cruiser." A voice declared, in Crestar's ear.

"Could be a Coalition cruiser. Have you tried hailing them, Vesta?"

"I have. No response thus-far. Though scans aren't showing any energy-level changes."

"Strange..."

"And even more strangely, I've noticed something about the Halo's energy levels. Assuming it's got the same setup as previous Halo's, it's energy is only going to basic functions, such as rotation, gravity, maintaining the atmosphere, and keeping it in the same place."

"Vesta, what are you saying?"

"That it's systems, are for the most part, idle."

* * *

**A/N: **Why are this Halo's systems idle, and is that Covenant cruiser friend or foe? I guess you'll have to wait until the next chapter to find out. 


	4. Boarding Action

**Halo: The _Night Sword _Chronicles**

**Chapter IV: Boarding Action**

"Sir, I'm picking up a faint signal from the Covenant cruiser. Assuming that I'm hearing it right, and that Vesta's translations aren't off, it sounds like a distress signal." After the communications office finished, the crew in the bridge could hear a voice that sounded almost like Vesta muttering about how the translations couldn't be off, over the bridge P.A. system.

"Is it a Covenant or a Coalition signal?" Captain Crestar asked, breaking the silence that had come about after the muttering stopped.

"Covenant, sir." Came the officer's reply.

"So, the Covenant has arrived. Vesta, what can you tell me about that cruiser of theirs?"

"My scans have shown–no wait." Vesta paused momentarily, "That's strange. This asteroid field has been throwing off the _Night Sword_'s scanners . . . Compensating . . ." Once again the AI paused. Crestar watched the screens in front of him, as energy was being diverted to the scanners to re-calibrate them and take new scans.

"Things are much clearer now." Vesta commented, with a light chuckle, "My scans of the Halo are still accurate, but that cruiser is another story."

"Well?" Crestar questioned.

"Assuming that our scanners aren't suffering some as-of-yet unknown malfunction, there is what appears to be a serious blow to the Covenant cruiser almost right in the center on its starboard side. My analysis shows that such a blow could likely be caused by a plasma charge followed by a MAC round. From an external viewpoint, it's amazing the thing's still intact."

"That explains that." Crestar replied, but then an idea came to mind. "Any life signs?"

"With the damage done to the cruiser and systems malfunctioning, there is some interference with the scans, but yes, there are life signs."

"What about hull integrity?"

"At this range, it's hard to tell, but I'd guess somewhere around 53 percent hull integrity, with a 5 margin of error in either direction."

"Plenty stable. Vesta, ready a sizable boarding party. With a gash that size their shields are likely down, and it'd be too risky to attempt a plasma charge."

"Already working on that boarding party, Captain."

* * *

"All right, ladies!" Staff Sargent Morar boomed. If you had heard this guy in person, even his insults would instill a form of courage, or perhaps a fear of what he'd do to you if you didn't follow orders. "Looks like we've finally found ourselves some Covenant bastards! Out there's a damaged cruiser that is like no cruiser we've seen before. Better yet, Captain Crestar thinks it would make a fine trophy! Our job is to cleanse it of the Covenant scum on board, and to take complete control of the vessel. With me so far, marines?" 

"Sir, yes sir!" The fifty plus marines around Sargent Morar replied.

"Now then, on to the battle plans. There are two locations we can land. One is at the front of the ship, where Vesta thinks she can disable the docking shields in order for us to land. The other is towards the rear, where scans have shown an inactive blast shield. Why it's inactive we don't know, but it's still an entrance. We expect to meet heavy resistance at both entrances, as the Covenant are very unlikely to just hand over a ship.

"Once onboard," The Sargent continued. "We will need to secure the bridge of the vessel, which, due to the damage to the ship, is only accessible a few ways. The other location is of course, the engine room. We can't have these bastards blowing us all to smithereens when we aren't looking!"

"Staff Sargent, the Captain needs these troops in the pelicans and in the air ASAP." A passing Commander ordered, getting a look of mild resentment from Morar.

"On to your armament then. Each of you will be equipped with a MA6B assault rifle, much like the MA5B you were trained with back at boot camp. Only change is a large clip, expanded by a whopping ten rounds, and it's just a bit more accurate. Then you have your standard M6D Pistol. Nothing new about those, as you should have all used them in boot camp at some point or another. And I trust you all know what a basic fragmentation grenade is right?"

"Sir, yes sir!"

"Then get moving to your transports men! No time to be just standing around, admiring the _Night Sword_'s beautiful workmanship! Move!"

The MA6B Assault Rifle was a particularly new weapon, but since it had practically the same look as the MA5B, and the same ammo, it was nearly impossible to discriminate between the two at a distance. Other than the serial number tag and the slightly larger clips, the guns were practically the same.

The M6D pistol had been standard issue for a while now. Almost every marine in the UNSC had a pistol. 12 shots to a clip, with a tops of 5 extra clips, totaling a whopping 72 rounds. Not that astounding, but it was a lot more accurate than the MA6B assault rifles.

* * *

For a few moments, the entire compound heard gunfire, at one volume or another. Below Alpha Base, a marine had spotted something. He wasn't exactly sure what it was. All he knew was that it hovered, moved, and glowed. He had orders, and he wasn't about to get jumped by anything. 

"Guys, there's something down there."

"Yeah, we got your back man."

The small group of four marines moved down the dark passage, their shoulder mounted lights illuminating the darkness. As they went to round a corner, every one of them tightened their grip on their rifles. Then they moved. Everyone expected to see something other than this.

"I thought you said you saw something!"

"I did see something! It's not my fault it's gone!"

"Gah, you're seeing things, seeing figments of your imagination. Get a grip man."

"Fine, believe whatever, but I'm sure I saw something."

* * *

"I've got an energy spike on the Halo. Whatever it was, just caused a momentary spike of energy in the vicinity of Alpha Base, and another half way around the ring. Other than that, the majority of Halo's systems are idle." 

"Interesting. Keep an eye on it, Vesta."

* * *

"Alright marines, we've got the luxurious landing zone at the rear of the cruiser. And nothing says 'Welcome to the System' better than a well executed boarding action!" Morar commented over the whine of the Pelican's engines. Around him, his small company of nine marines looked at him, as if expecting more. "Now don't you go get yourselves killed now, I don't want to have to tell your wondering families back home that your dead! Nor, do I want to have to say some sort of eulogy!" 

"Passing through blast sheilds in 5. . ." A voice came over the Pelican's com system.

As the Pelican passed through the blast doors, it's rear door opened. As it did, the marines jumped out, not waiting for the typical landing completion comment from the pilot. The ten men aboard rushed for the nearest cover they could find. A smart move too, as the Pelican they had just left, fell victim to a well placed shot from a Fuel Rod Gun. Such weapons could be considered the Covenant equivalent of the UNSC's M19 SSM Rocket Launchers. Both weapons were heavy, and typically unused by basic troops.

"That's one less transport for the good guys." Morar commented. "Regardless men, we've got a job to do. Get out those pistols and shoot at anything that isn't one of ours!"

The massive cargo bay––as it was quickly assumed to be a cargo bay––was covered by gun fire, spent shells, and massacred corpses as both the UNSC and Covenant troops exchanged gun fire for about 20 minutes, that seemed more like a couple hours to the troops there. By the time the fight was over, the UNSC had lost a third of it's landing force, which numbered roughly a hundred. An astoundingly small number compared to what they expected, but Brutes weren't nearly as tactical as the Elites the Covenant once held in it's grip. The battle reflected the difference quite well. The loss ration was easily 3:1, Covenant to UNSC respectively.

"Alright guys, time to setup some better place barricades and get some sort of defense setup. It won't be long before those bastards return." Another squad leader was handing out orders. Morar and his team, on the other hand, had their own objectives.

"This ship has to have some sort of security room, outside of that in the bridge. Hopefully it wasn't in the section that is now a gaping hole in the starboard side."

* * *

At the other end of the ship, things had gone far smoother. The Covenant weren't expecting an assault at the closer end to actually be started after the one at the rear. To the Covenant Brute in command, it didn't make any sense. 

Only a minimal amount of resistance had been put up against the UNSC assault force at the front end of the craft. A number of jackals and a couple brutes brute. Compared to the fifty plus troops that had landed, each armed with their MA6B's, they never stood a chance. What few defenses that had been erected in the docking bay, had been riddled to shreds by the 70mm auto cannons at the front of the Pelicans.

Thanks to the lack of a battle though, the forces were already starting to move out through the hallways. A dumb AI designed just to hack Covenant systems and manage some basic operations of the ships interior had made things all the easier. When a door refused to open, the AI could hack the system, and when that failed, they could always plant a few charges on it and blast it open.

One room was an armory, which explained why hacking the system to open the doors was ineffective and why it took multiple attempts with explosives to get the doors open. Unfortunately, it was for the most part empty, but still had enough to re-supply the troops to an extent. Ammo was passed around so none would be wasted, then those without ammo dropped the UNSC weaponry and took a Covenant weapon or two to replace it.

Another room had been used as a makeshift detention area. After the UNSC squad opened the door, a few marines were mowed down by plasma fire from within the chamber. The rest of the squad wasn't about to do that, so just started lobbing fragmentation grenades into the room, and firing off rounds at something if it got too close. After a few minutes, the defenders were worn down to a bit of nothing. The original use of this room was a barracks, but the cruiser's AI had changed the codes on the doors for each of the rooms, turning them into private prison cells. After some work, the squad liberated a couple Elites and a small group of Grunts. One elite stuck with it's liberators and requested to talk to the man in charge of the UNSC forces, while the other Elite and the Grunts headed for the nearest armory to restock, and then to get revenge for their fallen comrades.

So far, there was less and less resistance the closer to the front or rear of the ship one got. Try to go past the cleared zones toward the center of the vessel, and things got dicey. The Covenant had dug themselves in very well, and had the added advantage of knowing the ships lay out. On the UNSC sides, several marines would've become lost had it not been for the AI that was linked into their com systems.

Several corridors were almost entirely blocked, which made the Covenant defense a bit easier, but also made it much harder if they decided to take the offensive. Only having to guard two or three passages into the upper levels of the ship, where the Covenant were still very much a force to be reckoned with.

* * *

"Sir, there is an Elite in the company of Assault Force Epsilon One, requesting to speak with you." Vesta declared in Crestar's ear. 

"Let's hear what the Elite has to say then."

"This is Coalition Captain Ramara, seeking audience with Captain Crestar of the UNSC Carrier _Night Sword_." A voice, distinctly alien, that sounded unfamiliar with the english it spoke, came over Crestar's earpiece.

"Speaking." Came Crestar's short reply.

"As you are the closest to a ranking officer in my vicinity, and you have been alerted to the situation, I shall inform you of my report."

"Receiving now..." Vesta commented in Crestar's ear.

* * *

**A/N:** Now that's a longer chapter isn't it? Over 2000 words, not including this little section. 

For those of you who don't know the difference between port and starboard, port is to the left of the ship, and starboard to the right. And of course, to idle is to simply do nothing.


	5. Ramar's Report

**Halo: The _Night Sword _Chronicles**

**Chapter V: Ramar's Report**

"Interesting." Vesta commented after receiving Ramar's report, "Though it's more of a first person account of what has happened since his vessel, the _Imminent Thunder_ was boarded."

"The Coalition cruiser that was going to aid us?"

"Indeed, Captain. Just a moment while I finish translating it . . ."

Seconds later the screen in front of Crestar changed from the statistical readout of the _Night Sword_, to a blank, black screen.

* * *

**UNSC Relevant Time:** 07:34:19 past discovery of Latest Halo. 

**Location:** Secura Sector.

**Status:** Normal Space due to Combat Presence.

"Delsius! Why did you refrain from telling me about the scanner readouts?" A particularly angry Captain Ramar questioned.

"Captain Ramar, I've told you before about the troubles of scanning in slipspace." Came the monotone reply from Delsius, the _Imminent Thunder_'s onboard "smart" AI. "I thought you would be glad considering. Even though they did have the advantage, we did deal a good blow to their vessel."

In front of Ramar, floated a holographic readout of the _Imminent Thunder_. The Covenant turned Coalition Medium Cruiser had for all effective purposes, been disabled. Fortunately, it's scanners still functioned, as did most internal functions. Unfortunately, nearly every weapon the ship had, had been destroyed by plasma rounds, and the shields had been long since overloaded.

"I have detected another boarding party, this time on deck fourteen, in section three." Delsius reported, "Plasma explosion in Generator Room B. Due to enemy threat, disabling Generator Room A. Rerouting power from Generator Rooms C through F. Boarding parties advancing toward the command room."

"This isn't good." Was Ramar's simple reply.

"I suggest we leave, now. I have already wiped the ships data banks clear of data. Only one thing remains to do, and I need your permission to do it."

"Engage a silent self-destruct of the _Imminent Thunder_ and set it for fifteen minutes. Also have the Special Operations Division report to the forward armory. Issue orders for everyone else to abandon the cruiser."

"Done." Came Delsius' reply moments later, "I've also called for a pick up of the survivors from a nearby UNSC cruiser. Shall I commence a transfer of my systems into your armor's databanks?"

The Sangheili's armors had data banks much like the MJOLNIR armor did. Not nearly so large in capacity, but large enough to hold an AI for a short time.

"Grand, and yes, transfer." Ramar didn't wait for an answer from Delsius. He knew full well that the AI could transfer using the communication system inside the ship.

Before leaving the command deck, he went over a review of his weapons. Two Plasma Pistols, each with a full battery, and then a M90 Shotgun he had taken from the body of what he had considered a valiant fighter, back when the Sangheili was still a part of the Covenant. Of course, when all else failed, he always had a trusty energy sword to fall back on.

As he completed his weapon check, the port entrance to the command deck opened. This wasn't a thing he was quite ready for.

Plasma and needler fire littered the command deck, as Ramar dove for the nearest thing that could be considered cover, the ridge below the actual command area. All Covenant cruisers had this simple design. On the ground, a trough of sorts was constructed into the ground, and above and between those troughs, also above the main floor of the chamber, stood the command area. In fact, command area was designed to be run by one Sangheili, and one AI.

"This isn't good. I don't even have any plasma grenades." Ramar cursed quietly to himself.

As the gun fire ebbed, Ramar turned around and peeked over the ridge of the trough he was in. On the other side of the room, a force of maybe ten jackals watched, from behind their personal barrier shields. Ramar took out his two plasma pistols, and let them charge. Jackals were one of the most annoying enemies to combat, as they have arm-mounted barrier shields, which could take as much of a pounding as an Sangheili's full-body shield, that if the shot wasn't deflected, like most were.

Such plasma pistols had the advantage over other weapons, of being able to charge, or make the plasma it shot more dense and larger in volume. At full charge, one could do about half the damage of the fuel rod gun, and it also had the added advantage of slightly homing in on a target. Two, in the right hands, could be very damaging weapons.

Once the weapons charged, Ramar let loose. One he launched just above the Jackals' shields, which hit behind them above the door, raining plasma on the jackals, while the other shot he released as the jackals started to scatter for new cover, which cut down what looked like half the force.

A few more shots, this time uncharged, from each of the pistols, and there was nothing left to oppose Ramar's leaving.

* * *

"Here's the plan," Ramar explained, "The Covenant seem to think we are headed somewhere interesting, and it's likely that they have already figured out just where we were in fact heading. So I suggest we hijack one of their boarding crafts, and take that back to their cruiser, where we will do everything we can to make sure they don't find what the UNSC has found. Any comments?" 

The Sangheilis and Unggoys in the room looked to each other, then back to the Captain.

"Good, we've got roughly 10 minutes before the _Imminent Thunder_ goes down in thundering glory."

Ramar, wasted no time in moving out. Everyone in that room had a com link, and Delsius was already busy explaining to each of them just where they needed to go, and who to take command from. The docking bays were a mere three decks below the double-layer forward armory. All of the primary docking bays in Covenant Craft were three decks tall, and large enough to accommodate two of the Phantom transports (which managed the same capacity as a Pelican, just no vehicle transport area) or, two of the UNSC's Pelican transports.

A minute or so later, Ramar found himself at the top floor of the forward port docking bays. Below him, Covenant Jackals rushed around, most of their shields, deactivated. Taking pot shots from this vantage would be easy, but it'd bring them all to alert, which the force of five Sangheilis and ten or so Unggoys didn't need.

"Proceed to the lower levels of the docking bay, and take over those Phantoms. Once you commence the attack, I'll disengage the docking fields." Ramar said, the orders being relayed by Delsius over secure channels to the rest of the team. While he didn't know exactly how the Covenant disabled the docking shields that separated the docking bays from the vacuum outside, right now he didn't have time to think about it. He had to get to the second level and pronto.

Two Jackals walked up to where they had spotted the Sangheili. Questioningly they looked around, as they had only seen him here a moment ago. Out of nowhere, a plasma blade appeared, and the Jackal's lives were ended quickly, and quietly. From behind his armor's active camouflage, Ramar appeared. It had been a while since he had some up close combat.

Without a sound, he left the two dead Jackals and proceeded through the doors that would take him where he needed to be.

* * *

Below him, Ramar heard the sounds of gunfire, and lots of it. He had other problems to contend with though. In front of him, was a group of Jackals, and they were too dispersed to take out quickly; positioned so that if one fell, another would see it, and there wasn't any cover on this floor. 

"I need a distraction. Someone toss a grenade onto the far end of the second level."

Moments later, his request was granted, as a blue flaming plasma grenade flew and landed behind the farthest Jackal. The Jackal watched it fly over his head, turned around, and looked down at the flaming ball of death, as if he wasn't sure it existed. A second later and he was proven wrong, as plasma flew in every direction, sending the Jackal's barely alive corpse on to the lower level of the docking bay, killing it on impact.

The other ones had seen it, and were quickly overcome with confusion. Exactly what Ramar wanted. Drawing his plasma pistols again, he unleashed plasmatic fury upon the jackals. Only a couple of them were smart enough to move their shields to face Ramar's onslaught, but those were at the other end of the confused mass. Jackals could become quite scared, but their shield made it harder.

As more of them fell, they began to get scared and flee to the far exit. Then the one thing Ramar didn't want to see, showed up. A Brute. Held by both arms of the beast, was a Fuel Rod Gun. It held no care for the fleeing Jackals either, as it simply shoved one that got in it's way, off the second level's overlook. The Jackal let out a scream, before it's body impacted the floor below. If it survived that, it surely survive the plasma fire that seared it's body.

"Men, find cover, they've artillery." Ramar made his order short. He on the other hand started charging his plasma pistols. Moments later, a low beeping noise was heard over the speaker in his helmet.

"Curses." Ramar muttered as he tossed the drained plasma pistols aside, and withdrew his M90. Unfortunately, he had only 12 shots, and shotguns were never known for accuracy.

"Come here you Sangheili scum." The brute spoke loudly, in Ramar's tongue. It sounded somewhat forced, as if the brute almost hated saying it. Probably the word "Sangheili".

"May the Forerunners take pity on your sole." Ramar commented as he stepped out from the support pillar, one of the few things on the level that could be used for cover.

_Woosh!_ A fuel rod charge flew past Ramar, as he advanced towards the Brute. Changing his tactics on the fly, he took out his energy sword and sprinted straight for the Brute. If he was lucky, he'd be too close for the Brute to use his Fuel rod gun, but he had to put the thing down before it got too angered. An angered Brute was a deadly Brute, to almost any race.

Luck was with him, at least this time. Just as the Sangheili was going for the firing mechanism, Ramar leapt and the super sharp tip of his energy sword went straight through the Brute's helmet, and into his skull. At the same time the energy sword met the Brute's helmet, the Brute fired his fuel rod gun, the side of it taking all of Ramar's full-body shield with it.

All Sangheilis had shields. And typically, those were the full body shield that covered what the name implied. The shield itself was a fraction of a millimeter above the Sangheili's armor, which kept handling weapons and controls easy.

Ramar got up, off the Brute's dead body. He didn't take a look at the damage he'd caused the dead Brute; he had other things to do.

Walking off to a control panel, mounted on one of the support pillars, he hit a series of buttons on the hologram, then heard the tell-tale clicks as the energy fields holding the Phantoms in place was released. Strange that the Covenant would take time to dock their phantoms and secure them. Ramar figured that the Covenant probably intended to take the vessel, and capture the command crew, or in other words, him.

"Finish what you're doing and board those Phantoms. We don't have time to waste."

* * *

The Phantoms shot out the docking shields, and headed towards the Covenant Cruiser that was maybe a hundred kilometers off the _Imminent Thunder_'s rear. Ramar had to play this just right. If he went to fast, it'd look like he was fleeing, and too slow made it seem like he was taking his own sweet time. It'd been too long since he had piloted one of these things too. His piloting wasn't anywhere near smooth. 

"Phantom Nineteen-A, proceed to rear port docking bay." A monotone voice of an AI came over the Phantom's com system.

"They are expecting us? Strange." Came a quick reply from Delsius. The AI knew something was up, and Ramar knew it too. Something just didn't feel right.

Minutes later, the Phantom pulled into the docking bay. As the Phantom engaged it's landing sequence, the cruiser's energy fields kicked in. That's when they sprung their trap. Brutes and Jackals emerged from every possible entrance to the docking bay.

"I guess this is it."

* * *

"That catches us up on what has happened, Captain." Vesta commented as the visual ended abruptly, "All in all, Ramar dealt a serious blow to the Covenant in that bay, considering his force was outgunned about four-to-one. After some serious fighting, his force just ran out of ammo. 

"Why capture him though? It's unlike the Covenant to take prisoners." Crestar questioned.

"As far as I can tell, they were probably aiming for the _Imminent Thunder_'s capture. Captain Ramar was likely a bonus as far as they were concerned."

* * *

**A/N:** No update on the UNSC's boarding yet. And yes, I know that Elites (or Sangheilis as they are called in the report) don't talk English like that. That's because they weren't talking English. The speaking in Ramar's Report was translated to English by Vesta and Delsius. 

For those that don't know; the UNSC name for the races, and the Covenant/Coalition names.

Grunt - Unggoy  
Elite - Sangheili  
Hunter - Lekgolo  
Jackal **- **Kig-Yar  
Brute **- **Jiralhanae

And I'm only assuming that an Elite's suit has the storage capabilities for an AI. This is set after Halo 3, so it could be possible.


End file.
